United Won't Have A Proper Back Four Against Spurs

Well, guys. We have TWO fully fit defenders for the visit of Tottenham and possibly for the visit to the Hawthorns the next week. Apart from John O'Shea and Nemanja Vidic, no other senior player is expected to be available for Saturday.

Fortunately, Jonny Evans is said to be carrying only a minor ankle injury and should be OK in a week's time. There's silence surrounding Rio Ferdinand's back injury, the last information was he could be back for the Spurs game. In the present situation I do not care about the FA Cup in the slightest but seeing him lining up in a United shirt at West Brom would be a great relief.

Gary Neville also picked up an injury yesterday night but there is no further information about that. Rafael will be out for a few weeks with his hamstring problem and scans will have to determine the extent of the injuries to Giggs and Nani. And there's the serious one - according to Fergie -, Anderson who is suspected to have a broken ankle.

Which means that selecting team that will take on Spurs suddenly looks straightforward. I would give Welbeck another run-out and wrap Berba in cotton wool but Fergie won't do it. So, here we go, that's how we'll look.

It's open to debate of course but only about the minor things. It's possible that Gibson won't be on the bench but Fabio and Possebon will, it's possible that Fabio will start and O'Shea will be a centre-back... but the fact is, we won't have a proper back four and we'll have very little options on the bench. Suddenly our situation looks bleak, and this only because of one night and one game. SIX injuries in 90 minutes... honestly.

If you have got two fit defenders against West Brom you are lucky. The Baggies finished the game against Boro on Saturday with only one fit recognised first team defender. Its touch and go whether the others will have recovered in time for the game against United.